Investor Stuart Olsten has acquired majority ownership of Milwaukee-based talent acquisition software developer HarQen LLC. The sale price was not disclosed.
Olsten, an expert in staffing and human resources, has experience in building and selling companies. He has been a HarQen board member for seven years and will now take on the role of executive chairman. Olsten previously was president and chief executive officer at international ice cream retailer MaggieMoo’s International LLC, and chairman and president of Fortune 500 firm Olsten Corp., which he grew to about $5 billion in combined revenues before selling it to Swiss staffing firm Adecco. He then spun off Olsten Healthcare into a new public company, Gentiva Health Services, which he sold to Kindred Healthcare in 2015.
“HarQen is an innovative company with a cutting-edge platform that continues to revolutionize and streamline the hiring and recruiting process for businesses. HarQen’s digital interviewing applications eliminate the frustration and delayed communication many people experience while searching for employment,” Olsten said.
The new owner has appointed experienced recruitment executive Suzanne Kinkel president of HarQen. Kinkel worked with Olsten as an executive at Olsten Staffing, and also was CEO of The Talent Logics Group.
“I was honored when Stuart Olsten approached me with this opportunity to lead HarQen as president,” Kinkel said. “Stuart Olsten and I have collaborated on many projects over the years. I have spent my entire career in the recruitment and staffing industry both as a consultant and client, and I recognize the value HarQen’s platform brings to the hiring process.
“I had the opportunity to work closely with the HarQen team while consulting with one of their clients. I saw firsthand the HarQen team’s dedication to improving the hiring results for a company that interviews more than 100,000 candidates a year. My move to HarQen was an easy decision after that experience. There is no limit to where we can go with HarQen’s talent acquisition platform and its customer-focused team.”
